Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 56: Secret Message

He Juan’s face abruptly changed.

As long as he knew Su Xieren, the Beta always had a mild and detached temperament. More often than not, it would always be him who was getting invited to places instead of the other way around. Even if he did, he would always add ’forget it if you can’t’ at the end of the message as if he couldn’t care less whether the other party would accept it or not. But now...

Su Xieren’s message was practically telling him ’I need you urgently right now’. How could He Juan stay still once he realized it?!

He repeatedly apologized to Teacher Song, explaining that he had an emergency he could not leave unattended. Fortunately, Teacher Song already had a good impression on him after their talk. He waved He Juan off and reassured him that he would give a head’s up once the competition ended. In his mind, he already assumed that it was Teacher He’s great beauty who was throwing tantrums after being left alone on this beautiful Sunday...

Sigh... who told him to be a single dog?

Unaware of the bitter thought in Teacher Song’s mind, He Juan was very grateful. He rushed out of the university and hailed the nearest cab, urging the driver to quickly drive to the destination.

In less than fifteen minutes, he arrived in front of a cozy and upscale coffee shop downtown. He Juan knew this place. It was one of Su Xieren’s favorites. He said that the atmosphere in this cafe was very good and he liked to come here whenever he needed some space to calm down.

He Juan and Jia Molei did not have this bourgeois habit of drinking branded coffee and hence, they very seldom come here. If He Juan remembered correctly, he had only visited once due to Su Xieren’s recommendation and after that, he almost choked to death when he saw the price of one cup of coffee. Since then, He Juan had never stepped foot in this place again. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Compared to Su Xieren, he could be considered dirt poor. It was better to stick with his herbal tea and warm water.

He Juan pushed the door open and the bell tinkled to announce his presence. A staff member lifted his head from the cashier and offered him a bright smile. "Welcome to Old Town Roastery."

He Juan nodded with a tight smile. The fragrant scent of coffee beans and the warm atmosphere caused his shoulders to relax a bit. Because it was Sunday afternoon, most of the seats were already filled with people who came out to enjoy themselves. He Juan looked around a bit and found Su Xieren sitting in the deepest corner of the shop, staring at something in his hand in a daze.

He Juan’s heart abruptly gave a squeeze. He had not seen Su Xieren for only one day, yet the Beta looked like he had aged ten years. Everyone who worked in the medical field would be mysophobic to some extent and the same applied to Su Xieren. He would always show up with an impeccable look; hair trimmed neatly, stubbles shaved and cologne on.

But now... He Juan raked his gaze over Su Xieren’s messy hair, rumpled clothes and bloodshot eyes, and felt like he almost could not recognize this man. What had happened to him overnight?

"Didi..." he called out gently.

Su Xieren lifted his head and his eyes softened slightly when he caught sight of He Juan. He gestured to the seat in front of him. "Take a seat, da-ge. Do you want to drink anything? My treat."

When He Juan came close, he finally saw the thing Su Xieren had been fiddling between his fingers.

It was a diamond ring.

A small sized ring that definitely could not fit into Su Xieren’s fingers. It was apparent whom the ring belonged to.

As soon as realization dawned on him, a sharp pain struck He Juan right on his chest, especially when he recalled the tragic state he found Miss Zhao Xinya in. It was as if someone had whacked him with the blunt end of the knife, sending off a wave of dull and throbbing pain through his body.

As he sat down and took in Su Xieren’s disheveled state, he could not help but feel more terrible. Even then, he still tried to pull up the corner of his lips and started a light conversation, "You didn’t sleep last night? Look at how red your eyes are..."

"I know the police have found Xinya’s body, if that’s what you want to ask," Su Xieren directly got to the point, almost causing He Juan to choke on his breath.

He Juan carefully observed him and could not seem to pinpoint any emotions on Su Xieren’s face. Yet the more casual he was, the more apprehensive He Juan became. Su Xieren was akin to the surface of a calm volcano, it was utterly unpredictable when he would explode and burn the whole world down with him. He’d rather Su Xieren get angry, cry or smash things than sitting demurely in this warm coffee shop and sipping on his usual coffee.

For some reason, this kind of Su Xieren made him feel extremely uneasy...

He Juan took a deep inhale. If Su Xieren did not want to beat around the bush, then he would also do the same. "You said that you have something you want to talk to me about. What is it?"

Su Xieren was ready. He reached into his pocket, took out a rumpled envelope, placed it on the table and pushed it in front of He Juan. It looked very familiar... Before He Juan could dig through his memory, Su Xieren kindly reminded him, "It’s the letter Xinya left me, the one Officer Mu brought to my office yesterday. You were also there at that time, da-ge."

He Juan’s eyes widened in realization. He looked at Su Xieren, then the envelope he had pushed in front of He Juan. He showed a hesitant look. "This..."

Su Xieren nodded. "Read it."

"...Is it okay?" He Juan could not help but confirm once again. After all, this was the only thing Miss Zhao had left him. It felt... blasphemous to open the letter so carelessly, as if he would intrude on something sacred and special between the couple.

Su Xieren looked him straight in the eye. "It’s okay, I want you to read it, da-ge."

He Juan pursed his lips. He knew that Su Xieren would not call him out for something meaningless. Something important must have been written in the letter. As he reached for the letter, his heart started to race faster. He Juan took a deep breath and flipped it open.

He spent a total of five minutes reading it. The further he went, the more uncomfortable he was. Not because there was something disturbing, but because... this was just an ordinary love letter. Zhao Xinya’s delicate handwriting was filled with her love and appreciation for Su Xieren as she reminisced on their perfect first date. She described the beauty of maple trees, the autumn sky and the delicious food so vividly that He Juan could sense her happiness through it.

He Juan was feeling extremely awkward now. "Xieren, this..."

"Have you finished reading?" Su Xieren asked calmly.

He Juan nodded.

Su Xieren started to talk, "On our first date, I brought her to this coffee shop. It’s in the middle of summer."

He Juan was rendered speechless. That was just... a very Su Xieren-thing to do. Then as the words sank into He Juan’s mind, he was left flabbergasted. "Then... this letter..."

Miss Zhao obviously wrote that their first date was on Mount Yixing on the peak of autumn! It was impossible for Su Xieren to be mistaken about this kind of thing. So the only possibility was... Miss Zhao was lying! But what did she need to lie for?

An absurd speculation surfaced in He Juan’s mind.

"You guessed right," Su Xieren read his thought in one glance. The corner of his lips curled into a bitter smile. "This is a secret message Xinya left me. The lie that only I can see through."